Over the past 7 weeks, I have watched with great excitement as the First Paramedic Education class has been underway here in San Juan. It has been an honor to be a part of it. It's been even MORE awesome to see my husband enjoy and thrive in this environment of learning. Graduation is this upcoming Friday and I can't wait to watch Monchy and the other students "take flight" with newly learned skills and abilities. As some of you may know, my husband is a very energetic (!!!) animated learner. He has already found patients (off duty....at a 5k race) in San Juan, leaped into an ambulance with them, and gone to the hospital seeking further care for the patients. My favorite part of this story was hearing him describe about how GOOD it felt to KNOW what to do with a sick or hurt patient. So very rewarding!
Here in San Juan we don't have the 911 system as of yet but according to Public Health, it is coming. We don't have set jobs yet for the students or a "national" certification but we feel good about capacitating these students for roles in EMS, whether it is in the hospital, in our current clinic, in the NEW clinic that we are building, or for private contracts with ambulance transport teams. I have also been so impressed with our developing relationship with the Public Health administration in San Juan. I have met people who are passionate for change and improvement and who have a love for the poor. These folks want to see our program succeed, for the good of all in San Juan. It will take time and we will need to be patient as the government develops their EMS system and a national definition of paramedic...but I can see it coming in the future. Dr. Canario wants to employ a number of the paramedics in our new clinic in the future, which is also encouraging to know.
It's been a pleasure for me to get to know some of the students in the program. Wascar has been an inspiring student from the very beginning. I am including his blog post below. I don't think I can "boost" the program in any way more than to show you his words. Beautiful testimony. Please continue to pray for the students as the program wraps up this week! It has been a wonderful experience!
Wascar Valdez is an enthusiastic student of PEP, having never received any prior medical training. He openly shares about the strength that his Christian faith plays as a paramedic student in such a revolutionary and demanding program. His blog explains some of his most vulnerable moments on the first day of class as well as some of his proudest moments throughout his training
When I heard that there were trainers coming to teach a paramedic class, I investigated to find out who was in charge. Later on I found out that the doctor in charge was Dr. Canario. I talked to him, and he told me exactly what I had to do in order to be considered to be a student of the Paramedic Education Program.
The first day, the paramedic instructors gave me the items I would need for the class: text book, workbook, uniform, trauma scissors and stethoscope during the inauguration ceremony at Hotel Maguana. I took them and I went home because the course was starting on Monday after and they gave me the items on Friday. The hard part was on Sunday night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept wondering if I should go or not, because at the inauguration ceremony I saw that I was the oldest of the students and also that I didn´t know anything about medicine. I went to the classroom early on the first day of class, I was seated and the classmates that were going to follow the course started to arrive. The instructors were Mike and Nick and then we introduced ourselves. The instructors told us that we had to take a pretest. Right there I looked at the door way to go home, but I told myself I am going to stay, and I stayed. The exam of 75 questions began, and I saw that there were letter options for each question (A,B,C, or D). At the end of the exam I only had 13 correct answers.
Then the instructors began to teach the classes from the book and I started to pay attention to it, they always did a review quiz the day after. For the first review I got 6 correct out of 10 questions; then 4 out of 10, then 8 out of 10, then 9 out of 10, then 5 out of 10, then 9 out of 10 and that is how the study began. On Tuesday, June 16th I earned 10 out of 10 for the first time! I was very happy, I have never had a grade like that before! The thing I liked the most is that the instructor Nick said, “I will give you a red star” because the review quiz were having a star if they passed with 7 or more correct and all my friends had but I have never had such a high grade to earn a red star.
Then the instructors Mike and Nick began to teach a lot about anatomy, lifting patients, intubation, how to start an IV, how to put gloves on and how to take them off, and so many other things. Jon came and taught us about EKG’s. The instructors Bill, Erik and Krista came and along with Mike and Nick taught us many ways of treating trauma injuries to the head and neck, chest and abdomen. I feel very well, that with God’s help, and also with the help of Mike, Nick, Jon, Erik, Krista and Bill, I will be able to be one of the very first paramedics to graduate in this country.
I have learned to intubate a patient and to perform CPR, to start an IV, to deliver oxygen, to splint, to administrate medicine like: epinephrine, and some others, to take the blood pressure, pulse, and respiration, to do the SAMPLE and OPQRST assessments.
On Friday’s of each week we go to the hospital emergency department to practice what we have learned, this is difficult. If I saw a person wounded or with a trauma, I was afraid, but thanks to God and to my instructors I have learned how to help wounded people! On Friday we had to take care of a 34 year old man that was taken to the hospital with a broken leg and my partner and I had to splint it, I did it like a pro, and that is the way we are going to perform our duties from now and on. On Saturday, Nick, Deivi and I had to enter the birth room at the hospital, we were present in two deliveries. One was made by the doctor and the other by Nick, and I was expected to do the next delivery that never arrived while at the hospital. I hope to deliver a baby next week.
Thank you a thousand times for what you have taught me and for your dedication. God and we, the people of San Juan de la Maguana appreciate it. I thank you forever Mike, Nick, Jon, Bill, Erik, Krista and Nicole among others.
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